The Ticketwriters review four recent releases
PONY TAIL Ice Cream Spiritual We Are Free ****
Joining The Wire and Dan Deacon as Baltimore's finest exports are noise monsters Ponytail, a musical Frankenstein of one part girl, three parts boy. Label We Are Free (also home to Indian Jewelry) seems to favour intense troughs of sound,
but if Indian Jewelry stake their flag in drone rock territory, Ponytail prefer a breakneck blend of razor-sharp pop rock. Molly Siegel doesn't so much sing as ululate enthusiastically like an Amazon dancing around a bonfire. On Beg Waves, it doesn't matter what Siegel's saying, it's one ongoing duel between her, brittle guitars and drum thumps. Comparisons to Deerhoof are understandable, but Siegel's non-verbal vocal approach is more intriguing; the musical twists and turns less obvious. This is pure punk with party tendencies - and like the best all-nighters, it's relentless, unpredictable and a whole heap of fun. www.myspace.com/jreamteam SINÉAD GLEESON
Download tracks:Beg Waves, Celebrate the Body Electric
THE VERVE Forth Parlophone***
This is supposedly the reunion we've all been waiting for. After eight years the Wigan four-piece are back, but their fourth album is a bittersweet affair. Epic songs of U2 proportions (the atypical first single Love Is Noise, the bass-driven Columbo, the shimmering Valium Skies) help keep some focus on an otherwise directionless set of tunes. Sit and Wonder and Numbness could do with major trimming (over half of the tracks pointlessly pass the six-minute mark), while Richard Ashcroft's lyrics have as much edge as a blunt knife. This harks back to the days when The Verve emerged into a British rock scene and even the most nondescript bands seemed to be celebrated for their sheer ordinariness. That said, with some ready-made singles, fan nostalgia and a solid legacy on The Verve's side, Forth is still destined for success. www.theverve.co.uk BRIAN KEANE
Download tracks:Love Is Noise, Valium Skies, Columbo
RORY God Bless the Big Bang Buddy **
With The Revs on apparently permanent hiatus, frontman Rory Gallagher rebounds with an extended meditation on disaster, defiance and devotion. Playing every instrument himself (except the pedal steel guitar; thanks, Dad), the Donegal man delivers an album of general acoustic guitar jingle- jangleness. Given his rock past, it's all a little disconcerting, like watching a lion tamer trying his hand at chartered accountancy. A surfeit of true-but-trite sentiments ("If you're sensitive it's so hard for you to live") and try-too-hard choruses (End of the World Boogie, Walking In My Dreams) will make you wish Rory had taken the three real gems - It's Not Great on Yer Own, Wake House and Rain Dancer - and put out a top- notch EP. As it stands, this slight Travisty (sorry) of an album manages to keep us interested, but only just. www.rorymusic.org DARAGH DOWNES
Download tracks:It's Not Great on Yer Own, Wake House
PIVOT O Soundtrack My Heart Warp ****
These Australian instrumentalists know all the right angles to make when it comes to trippy, epic math- rock. On Pivot's second album there's plenty of engaging, fluid grooves catching fire and escalating into absorbing mini-dramas. Unlike many math-rock formula followers, Pivot's map lines go back to classic electronic drafts and diagrams. It's worth remembering that band member Laurence Pike spent time on the chin-scratching circuit as Triosk, as well as playing with such acts as Prefuse 73. (Pike's brother and fellow Pivoter Richard, meanwhile, earned his corn as Ewan McGregor's Star Wars stand-in). Their electronic music methods to amplify sinewy melodies make tracks In the Blood and Sweet Memory resonate with energy and emotion. You can imagine Pivot soundtracking films, both real and imaginary, for some time to come. www.myspace.com/pivotpivot JIM CARROLL
Download tracks:In the Blood, Sweet Memory
